Around 1,000 Mark 8th Anniversary of Kuciak Murder at Gathering in Bratislava

Bratislava, 21 February (TASR) - A gathering was held on Saturday evening at Freedom Square in Bratislava to mark the eighth anniversary of the murders of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova, organised by the initiative For a Decent Slovakia. In addition to Jan Kuciak's parents, representatives of several Slovak media outlets and cultural initiatives addressed the crowd. According to organisers, around 1,000 people attended the gathering in Bratislava. Jan Kuciak's father, Jozef Kuciak, pointed out that state representatives call for reconciliation in society while continuing to attack journalists. "On the one hand they call for calm, for us to unite as Slovakia and be united and not attack one another, but on the other hand they continue to attack journalists, the good investigative journalists. They label them in various derogatory ways and would almost put them outside the law. So what does that have to do with democracy?" he asked. According to him, the Kuciak family is increasingly losing faith in justice. "I say that we are ceasing to believe in justice, because we see what is happening, that politicians are amending laws, including the Criminal Code, to suit themselves and that some people may therefore feel they are something more, that they stand above the law and can do whatever they want. But we believe that if we stand together, it will change, that justice will prevail again one day, because hope always dies last," Jozef Kuciak stated. Journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova were murdered on 21 February 2018 in their family home in Velka Maca in the Trnava region. Three verdicts in the case are final and binding. The perpetrators of the murders, Miroslav Marcek and Tomas Szabo, were previously sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Zoltan Andrasko received a 15-year custodial sentence. In the case concerning the alleged order for the murder, Marian K. and Alena Zs. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons] are facing trial. The previous two verdicts were overturned by the Supreme Court, and the case has therefore returned for a third time to the Specialised Criminal Court. mf